Broken Moments
by SabineAmnell
Summary: This is a short story that popped in my head. There will be alternate endings, cause the first one was a bit too devastating for me.
1. Library Dedication

"Nice to see you, sir."

The former President Josiah Bartlet smiled up at his former Chief of Staff, Claudia Jean Cregg. The exchanged a kiss on the cheek, "Look at that tan. I was gonna ask you to come to the farm for a week, but we should come to you."

"You'd love it, sir, Santa Monica is your kind of town." C.J said with a smile.

"Really?" President Bartlet asked, surprised.

"Not really, no."

He chuckled at the joke, and offered a hand to Danny Concannon, C.J.'s husband, "Abbey wants a picture of the baby."

"I thought we emailed you one," Danny said, shaking hands and smiling.

"Something she can tape to the fridge."

"Oh, I'll see what I can dig up." He smiled at his wife.

The President moved on to Toby Ziegler, "Glad you could make it."

Toby nodded, humbly, "Thanks for the invitation, sir."

"How's Columbia?" The President wanted to know.

"Not such a bad place to spend some time."

The President moved on to greet Kate, Will, and Charlie before C.J. asked, "All set with your speech?"

"I think so. A little meandering in the middle, but..."

Everyone began speaking at once, offering to help with the speech.

President Bartlet put up a hand, "No, thank you, I'll be fine." He said, good naturedly.

Josh interrupted the informal meeting, coming up the stairs hurriedly, "Sir, can we get you to..." He paused, smiling around at everyone present. "Wow. Quite a collection of dignitaries. Sorry."

"You were saying, Josh?" The President pressed.

"The President's here." Josh announced, of course meaning the current President, Matt Santos.

With a fond glance at Danny, C.J. followed Josh and the former President outside as the motorcade filed up at the curb. They all waited on the steps in front of the grand doorway as the tall form of President Santos smoothly exited the car and walked with long strides toward the former White House Administration.

"Good afternoon." He greeted, waving.

For that moment, all was right in the world. Old friends were meeting again and would be able to spend a few hours together, reminiscing and catching up. The moment ended with a gunshot. A car careened away from the street toward the library. Secret Service Agents opened fire seconds before the fire was returned.

"No damn beaners in the White House!" Hateful shouts bellowed from the vehicle that now had flat tires. No one had time to react. Secret Service, trained as they were, went in to action immediately, protecting both Presidents. Instinctually, everyone ducked down low. It was over almost as soon as it began. Santos was already back in the motorcade which had sped off, Bartlet had been whisked inside. As the car rolled to a stop, the driver and passenger who had opened fire all shot dead, everyone looked around in shock.

On the top of the steps, in her husband's arms, was C.J., bleeding from a gunshot wound in the chest, just below the diaphragm. A stray bullet had hit her and, seeing her fall back, Danny caught her. Her blue eyes darted around in confusion as she gasped for breath.

Danny leaned over her, "C.J.?" He pleaded.

Her eyes finally focused on Danny's. Impulsively, he put a hand over the wound, his other hand cupped her face, "Help!" He shouted, though everyone had noticed their predicament just then anyway.

Toby knelt down at Danny's side and looked up, "Get that ambulance back here." He shouted at Josh.

The ambulance that followed the motorcade had driven off with the President and Josh was on his cell phone, desperately trying to get it back.

"C.J." Danny repeated desperately, brushing her hair back gently with a shaking hand. Lifting his other hand, which was now covered in blood, he examined the extent of the wound, "Oh God," He muttered frantically, his sight now being fogged out by tears, "No, no."

Toby took off his coat and placed it under C.J.'s head. He was silent but his own eyes were filling with tears.

President Bartlet was being prevented from going back outside by the Secret Service, "What the hell is going on out there, is anyone hurt? Why can't you let them in?"

"We haven't gotten the all clear, sir."

The sirens blared now and President Bartlet stilled, "Oh, God…"

* * *

The EMT's rushed from their vehicle with a gurney. They shoved Danny and Toby aside who stood out of the way quickly. With a calm that could only be gotten from years of practice, the two EMT's transferred C.J. onto the gurney and put an oxygen mask in place. Covered in his wife's blood, Danny rushed to follow them inside the back of the ambulance. He sat out of the way, watching, waiting, and hoping. He listened as emergency surgery was scheduled and the sirens moved traffic out of their way. When the ambulance stopped, everyone shifted forward with the force of it. They unloaded the gurney and Danny followed. Stopping just before the doors, the EMT waved at the surgery team, telling them they were ready.

Danny took C.J.'s hand and her weak eyes rested on him, "Hey," He said, putting on an encouraging smile, "You're gonna be fine. I love you." He kissed her forehead and her eyes fluttered shut. Caught by a nurse, he was pulled away as the surgery team took his wife out of sight.

"Sir, can I show you the waiting room? "The nurse asked, softly.

Danny nodded and followed, head held low. He was asked a few basic questions, filled out a form and was sat down in a private waiting room. He wasn't alone long before Josh, Toby, Will, and Kate arrived. Josh spoke first, "What do they know?"

Danny shrugged, "Nothing yet, she's in surgery."

A doctor walked in almost immediately after, "Daniel Concannon?"

Danny stood, "Yeah."

"I just wanted to give you an update."

Everyone stood silent at attention, waiting.

"They're performing surgery now to repair the liver. The bullet nicked the heart as well. There's a lot of internal bleeding. We won't know much for the next hour while they try and stop the bleeding but we'll keep you updated." The doctor nodded a greeting to everyone before leaving.

Deflating, Danny sat back down. He wasn't sure what he was expecting but he was certainly hoping for better news than that. Josh sat beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. It wasn't long until Abbey Bartlet and President Bartlet joined them. Everyone stood as the President entered. They both wore very somber faces.

"Danny." President Bartlet took his hand, "What's the news?"

Danny cleared his throat, "Nothing yet." He didn't want to explain what the doctor had said and test his voice further. It was catching in his throat. Abbey took him in a hug and he had to grit his teeth to keep his cool.

"She'll be fine, Danny." Abbey said into his ear.

All Danny could do was nod as they parted, now definitely unable to speak without breaking. Donna was the last to arrive, grasping hands with Josh before approaching Danny. They hugged.

"No one else was hurt, were they?" Danny asked Josh.

Josh shifted, "No."

Danny nodded, "Good."

Everyone fell silent and settled back down. Another half hour passed in a daze. Josh was in and out of the waiting room on his cell phone. He still had a job to do after all.

"Sir, I just want to give it awhile longer. At least until we hear something more." Josh was saying into his phone after having stepped out.

"Josh, we have a lot on tap for today, I need you here."

"I understand, sir, give me another hour."

"Josh…" Santos' voice had the edge of a warning to it. That was one thing Josh missed about President Bartlet that Santos lacked. He had a sort of emotional detachment, trying to be the best President he could be. It made for a lousy husband and the First Lady was feeling the effects.

"Sir, these are my friends. I know you hardly knew them, but it's important that I be here for a while longer until we hear something more." Josh said, firmly.

Santos had little choice, "Alright, keep me updated as well."

"Yes, sir." Josh slipped back into the waiting room. As soon as he sat down, the doctor came back, he look ragged.

Danny, who had been watching the door intently, stood first. The rest followed, watching the doctor with expectant faces. Danny was the first to suspect something had gone awry. If things were going well, it would have taken longer. This fast and surgery might have just ended abruptly.

"Mr. Concannon." He began with a sigh...


	2. You Made It A Home

"I'm very sorry. We lost her on the table, there was just too much internal bleeding, we couldn't get it under control."The doctor finished.

"What?" Danny couldn't believe what he was hearing. His head was spinning.

"Your wife passed away a few minutes ago." The doctor repeated, sadly.

The room seemed to empty of air. No one dared breathe. Denial hit Danny hard as he stared through the doctor who had just broken the news. It seemed like hours, but only a moment passed before he felt Jed Bartlet's hand on his shoulder. He turned toward to teary eyed group who was also just taking in the news.

Kate and Will looked stunned. Donna and Abbey were hugging and sobbing softly. Toby had sat back down and was staring at the floor, head in his hands. Josh also reached out to Danny muttering, 'I'm sorry.' Danny staggered back into a seat, his legs unwilling to hold him anymore. He finally broke, hunching over and weeping.

The rest was a blur. President Bartlet had told him not to worry about anything, that they would take care of everything. Danny knew this meant getting his wife back to California for a funeral. He nodded and mumbled a thanks. Donna and Abbey had followed him back to their hotel room where they had planned to spend the night. Nothing had been unpacked except for a few toiletries that C.J. had used to freshen up before they left for the Dedication. Danny packed them slowly, rolling the lipstick tube between his fingers before placing it in the bag. He found it unbelievable that she had used it only a few hours ago and now she was gone.

* * *

Arranging to have his flight moved up, he was taken to the airport, accompanied by Josh. He knew he was being passed around from one person to the next so he wouldn't have to be alone and he appreciated it, but he had nothing to say to anyone. Josh was a wreck as well. Both men sat in the back of a black limo, eyes red, vacant faces, and silent. At the gate, Danny turned to Josh.

"Nothing could have been worse than this." Josh said, softly.

"No." Danny agreed.

They shook hands and Danny went through security in a stupor and finally sat in his seat. Five hours and a lot of pretending to sleep and even more concealing of tears, Danny was on the ground in Los Angeles. He found his car where they had parked in on the way out that morning. It was dark now as he packed up the car, he wasn't sure what time but he knew it was late. Even so, he sat in the driver's seat and called the Nanny.

"Hi," He said when she answered groggily, "Hi, Mrs. Stone, it's Danny, sorry to wake you. I'd like to pick up Alice."

"Mr. Concannon, you're home early." She yawned.

"Yeah, came back early. I'll be there in an hour to get Alice."

"Of course."

Danny hung up the phone. He drove straight to Mrs. Stone's house and she was waiting for him. His eight month old baby was already ready to go in a car seat asleep. The sight of he and C.J.'s baby daughter made his heart ache for his wife and he was short with Mrs. Stone in order to get home quickly. He kissed her cheek and rushed away, placing Alice in the seat next to his. The home he had made with C.J. wasn't far. Pulling into the driveway, he turned the car off and got out. He was breaking again. The evening noises of chirping insects and rustling leaves were a small comfort. Leaving the luggage inside the car, he took his daughter their daughter inside.

Placing the carrier on the bed, Danny found himself staring at C.J.'s side of the bed, knowing very well that the sheets would still carry her scent. Just twenty four hours previously, they had made love in this room. The memory was almost crippling.

She had come home late bringing food from their favorite Chinese place. The house was quiet, the baby at the Nanny's. Slipping off her heels in their bedroom she gave him a coy smile. He knew the signs of invitation and smiled back. Pulling her into a passionate kiss, his hands worked at the zipper in the back of her dress. They parted long enough to shed their clothing and fell onto the bed in the embrace of the other. Her contagious laugh sounded when he hit his head on the headboard.

He chuckled, rubbing his sore noggin but didn't pause long. He could only keep his hands off of his nude wife for a very short amount of time. Danny found that his hands were shaking as he replayed the memory. Never again, he thought, captured in a spiral of gloom. The once warm home now felt desolate.

He unstrapped his daughter from the car seat and she began to fuss as she woke. He lifted her into his arms and took a seat in the rocking chair that faced the sliding glass door leading to the porch. Rocking his daughter, he spoke to her gently.

"Shh, it's ok, baby." The fussing quieted and he kissed her forehead several times, rocking her back to sleep. Things would be very different now and Danny had never felt so alone. Being careful not to disturb the sleeping baby, he pulled out his cellphone and pressed the speaker button. Pulling up voicemails, he pushed play.

C.J.'s voice suddenly filled the quiet room, "Hi, it's me. I'll be here for another hour or so and I was hoping you could drop Alice at the Nanny's. I'll get some take-out and we'll make a night out of being babyless. See you in a couple hours. Bye."

Danny could barely breathe as the sound of her voice filled his senses. He pushed the play button again.

"Hi, it's me. I'll be here for another hour or so…"

Bowing his head, he wept over his precious sleeping daughter.

THE END

p.s. Alternate ending coming soon!


	3. The Fight

Here is the alternate story. More to come, stay tuned!

* * *

"Josh…" Santos' voice had the edge of a warning to it. That was one thing Josh missed about President Bartlet that Santos lacked. He had a sort of emotional detachment, trying to be the best President he could be. It made for a lousy husband and the First Lady was feeling the effects.

"Sir, these are my friends. I know you hardly knew them, but it's important that I be here for a while longer until we hear something more." Josh said, firmly.

Santos had little choice, "Alright, keep me updated as well."

"Yes, sir." Josh slipped back into the waiting room. Danny jumped, having been waiting for a doctor. Realizing it was Josh, he sighed.

Josh gave him an apologetic look. In the next two hours, President Bartlet and Josh had both left. Will and Kate were saying their goodbyes to Danny, asking him to keep them updated with any new information. Danny had told everyone that staying wasn't necessary and that he would call if he heard anything. Donna and Abbey stayed stubbornly behind, however. Toby had barely moved and Danny knew he was in for the long wait. He knew if anyone loved C.J. as much as he did, it was Toby. As much as Danny appreciated their friendship and devotion to C.J., he wanted to be alone. He was afraid that if he asked to be alone, he would regret it though and so stayed silent.

"Mrs. Bartlet," Donna broke the repressive silence, "Did anyone figure out what happened, why they were shooting?"

"It was a hate group. White supremacists." She answered with an edge of disgust to her voice, "President Santos has been getting attacks from them since the beginning."

"Sounds familiar." Danny mumbled bitterly, remembering Rosalyn.

"How's the baby?" Abbey asked, trying to get Danny's mind off of the surgery.

"She's great. Fat, loud, demanding." He chuckled, "But, it's the most amazing thing I've ever done. C.J. wants to betroth Alice to Huck." Danny allowed himself a smile. It was, of course, a joke between the three parents.

That made Toby look up, "Yeah, I got that email." He gave them the tiniest of smiles, "Alice is going to be too busy being President."

Danny smirked, "Yeah." Talking about their children did seem to ease the pain of waiting a little bit. Another hour slipped by but after the gates had been opened for conversation, the wait didn't seem as bad.

The doctor finally came in, looking ragged. Danny shot to his feet.

"Mr. Concannon?"

"Yeah."

"It was touch and go for awhile there, we had a hard time trying to stop internal bleeding. She's not out of the woods yet or anything, but we're able to begin repairing organs now that the bleeds have stopped. She'll need a blood transfusion and the surgery will probably last another eight hours or so. We can't make you very comfortable here, if you wanted to go home, we can keep you updated by phone."

"We live in California." Danny told him, "I'll stay." He turned to the room of people still waiting, "You guys can go, I'll call you as soon as they know anything else."

"I'm staying." Toby declared.

Donna and Abbey took the permission to leave. Abbey hugged Danny again, "I'll let Jed know. Please call us the moment you hear anything, day or night. She'll be back home before you know it, Danny." She kissed his cheek.

"Okay." Danny agreed.

The two remaining men, both deeply in love with the same woman, sat silently, waiting for news. The difference, though, was that Toby had never pursued C.J., nor would he have. He preferred that she be happy with Danny. He had come to terms long ago that they were never meant to be and treasured their friendship more for it. He would never quite be over her and would always harbor feelings, but Toby had never won but a single fight in his life and that was Bartlet for America.

C.J. won nearly every fight she tackled, however, and this gave him hope that she would win this one too.


	4. There's No PLace Like Home

Danny had dozed on and off in the next eight hours. In between a yawn and the decision to go to the cafeteria and fetch some coffee, a doctor arrived. Danny's yawn was cut short and his aching head cleared.

"The surgery was a success." The doctor didn't mind saying.

Danny grinned widely. Toby let out a breath.

"She is still in intensive care because we want to monitor her for a few more hours but she's out of the woods. We expect a full recovery."

"Can I-we see her?" Danny asked, giving Toby a glance.

"Not yet, once they finish up post op and get her into a room, we'll call you in."

"Thanks."

Once the doctor left, Danny decided he needed to move. Stretching he regarded Toby, who hadn't moved or sleep at all, "Do you want some coffee or something?" He asked.

"Yeah." Toby answered.

"Okay." Danny left the room, feeling lighter. He flipped open his cell phone and dialed Josh's number.

"Danny?" Josh answered immediately, "Any news?"

"Yeah, she's in post op right now and they want to monitor her for a few hours. She's going to be okay." Danny said, reveling the ability to deliver good news. He'd never tire of saying it.

"Thank God." Josh said with a sigh, "I'll call President Bartlet."

"Thanks."

"Can we come see her?"

"Not yet, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Danny."

Danny hung up the phone and sighed when he saw the line for coffee.

* * *

Toby wiped a tear away, his relief now showing since Danny left the room. He hadn't even realized how long Danny had been gone when a nurse came in and told him they could visit C.J. now.

"She is waking up pretty quickly and I figured Mr. Concannon would want to be there."

Toby nodded, "I'll call him." He pulled out his cell phone which was dead and shrugged, "He just went to get coffee, he won't be long."

"It's nice to see a friendly face when you come out of it." The nurse continued, "Why don't you come on in for a little bit?"

Toby hesitated for a moment before nodding. He followed the squat nurse into the intensive care unit and a fairly quiet private room. C.J. lay on the bed, looking pale and tired. Her blue eyes blinked slowly and the heart monitor showed a steady rhythm. Toby approached, smiling down at his oldest friend. Taking her hand, his heart ached at how long it took for her to focus on him.

Her lips moved to form his name but no sound came out, "C.J., you're just waking up from major surgery. Probably not the best time to talk, I know that'll be a challenge for you."

Her face became a mask of worry as she took in his words.

"You were shot." Toby told her, not one to beat around the bush, "In the chest." When he saw that this only made her clearly more worried, he smiled, "You're going to be fine."

This seemed put her more at ease but her face was still full of confusion.

Toby could guess what she probably wanted to know, "It was an attempt on President Santos. No one else was hurt. You had us scared there." Toby told her, feeling the sting in the corners of his eyes again. He leaned over to kiss her cheek and felt the smallest movement in her hand as she tried to wrap her fingers around his.

Danny walked in now with two cups of coffee as Toby stood up straight again. He put both cups down on a table near the window and went to the other side of the bed. Danny had to blink away tears as he leaned over to kiss her cheek and forehead. Toby backed up a little, allowing them the moment.

"Hi." Danny said, beaming.

C.J.'s lips curled into a tiny smile but she could no longer keep her eyes open.

* * *

Two weeks in the hospital had found C.J. able to go home. Those two weeks were quite the parade of White House Staff, friends, and family. Danny's sister even made an appearance as did Toby's twins and Andy. Danny had gone back to Santa Monica for a couple of days to see their daughter before returning to bring his wife home.

The President had arranged for a private flight to Santa Monica and a group waited for her at the airport. Danny pushed her in a wheelchair and they both smiled widely at their friends.

President Bartlet was first to greet her and no one would have contested him. They were all used to allowing him to be first in everything, "Claudia Jean." He said, leaning down to kiss her cheek and grasp her hand, "You're finally shorter than I am."

"Not for long, sir." She said as they parted. Danny was next in line for the President and they shook hands, "Not exactly the way we wanted an extended visit." He admitted.

"No, sir." Danny agreed.

Abbey gave C.J. a huge hug, "I was praying hard for you, girl. It's so wonderful to see you going home."

"It's wonderful to do anything except lie in a hospital bed." C.J. agreed. Abbey went on to give Danny a hug and kiss.

Josh was smiling as he approached. The two former co-workers grasped hands and exchanged kisses, "If you need to talk…give me a call." Josh whispered to her, and they both knew that since he had been through the same thing that he was offering his support.

"Thanks." C.J. whispered back as Donna approached with open arms.

Toby was last and the two shared the longest embrace. They separated with a short kiss on the side of the other's mouth, "I've missed you most of all, Scarecrow." C.J. bantered.

"Click your heels together, Dorothy, it's time to go home." He smiled as he straightened, his hand on his heart.

On the plane, after getting C.J. settled in a handicapped spot that fit the wheelchair, she took Danny's hand as they ascended, "Being taken care of is going to be insufferable." She stated, already uncomfortable being waited on and hardly able to wait until she was self sufficient again.

"I'm sure there are things I can do to make it more tolerable," Danny returned, his tone suggestive.

C.J. gave him a pleased smile, liking the banter, "I've missed you. And Alice."

Danny had been there all along, through the hospital stay, the physical therapy, and the last two weeks of recovery. But, he knew what she meant. They had hardly been alone all that time. He gave her hand a squeeze and leaned in to kiss her. As always, electricity passed between them, especially since it had been so long. After the kiss, she laid her head on his shoulder and he turned to kiss the crown of her hair. Closing his eyes, he thanked the power of whatever from high atop the thing that his wife was alive and recovering. He couldn't imagine the sorrow of living without her. As cliché as it was and as much as he knew it might make her roll her eyes if he said it aloud, this had made him appreciate what he had and understand how lucky he was. With the content smile fading from his face, Danny fell asleep.

THE END


End file.
